Sunday, July 29, 2007

"All Is Well"

Well, I have good news for the Britney Spears faithful and I have bad news. First, the good news ... Britney is continuing work on her new music video for the as-of-yet unknown first single from her new album -- having taken a bit of a break since she began shooting scenes for the video last week (which, you recall, led to a semi-disastrous expose in this week's OK! magazine) -- which means that she is still moving forward full-steam ahead with her much anticipated music comeback. The bad news is that this is how her work is commencing ... here are pictures from the set of Britney's new music video:

Now, I love the girl to death, prolly more than most people do, but I am SO not impressed with the whole stripper vibe she's got going on here. Isn't it bad enough that she has to contend with all the negative reports on her life without her having to stoop to portraying herself in this manner just for a music video? This is the image that she wants the world (including Child Protective Services) to see of her? It's not even that sexy. It seems clear that Lindsay Lohan's new movie, I Know Who Killed Me wherein she plays a stripper, is set to bomb at the box office this weekend so I don't know that it's wise for Britney to be emulating her right now. I'm sorry, while I'm glad that she's moving ahead with her career comeback I think it's a bad idea to take it down this path. [Source, thanks JR]

In other Britney news, she has been spotted in the company of a new gentleman caller who doesn't appear to be in the bodyguarding business. Here are pictures of Brit Brit and her new dude as they made their way into a place called Club One in Hollywood, CA last night:

Eh, she's done worse in the dude department ... but I don't know that she's done much worse in the dress department. Fringe? Is she serious? Well, at least there don't seem to be any discernable stains on the damn thing so ... that's a plus. [Source]

Let's move on ... Paris Hilton is apparently hard at work on a video of her own, tho it's unclear if it's a music video that she's working on. Here are pics of a gussied up Paris (carrying around her newest dog acquisition) making her grand exit from David LaChapelle's studio yesterday afternoon:

Maybe it's a video for charity that she's working on or something ... cuz she's in such a charity-way these days ... [Source]

... take for example her latest collabo with the trendy West Hollywood boutique Kitson. Paris is set to launch her new clothing line and for the mere price of $1,00. you can jump to the front of the line to not only meet Miss Hilton but to have her personally style you as well:

The ad clearly states that a percentage of the proceeds from this event will be donated to Children's Hospital ... and, truth be told, I must confess that I am a wee bit impressed that she's at least doing this much. I will happily give her props for whatever charitable contributions she engages in because something (no matter how small) is better than nothing. [Source]

Playing in front of drum-pounding, horn-blowing fans that made it seem like a home game, Chivas became the first Mexican team to win a SuperLiga tournament game. Francisco Rodriguez and Omar Bravo scored to give Chivas a 2-1 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy with David Beckham watching from the sideline Saturday night. "We've always felt very much at home in Los Angeles and we've always been welcomed very warmly," Chivas coach Jose De La Torre said in Spanish. The victory moved Mexico's most popular club team into first place in Group A with four points and dropped the Galaxy to second place with three ... The Galaxy (1-1-0) will play at FC Dallas (0-0-2) on Tuesday, seeking to clinch a semifinal berth. Beckham's status for that game is questionable. Chivas (1-0-1) will play Pachuca (0-1-1) in Colorado. Beckham joined his teammates on the bus to the Los Angeles Coliseum. But the only action he saw came in the 23rd minute, when he got off the bench and lightly kicked an out-of-bounds ball back onto the field. He has been limited because of a left ankle injury that has caused him to miss two consecutive games, including the Galaxy's 2-1 victory over Pachuca in its SuperLiga opener Tuesday. Beckham watched that win from a private suite with family members. "He definitely wanted to come to the game and be on the bench," Galaxy coach Frank Yallop said. Afterward, Beckham was accompanied by security as he walked past waiting reporters with his eyes forward. He has played just 16 minutes, including four minutes of stoppage time, in one game since joining the Galaxy on July 13. Beckham hasn't been able to train with the team since he arrived. "He wants to be on the field, he's frustrated, he wants to play and to a certain extent, he feels like he's letting people down," Galaxy general manager Alexi Lalas said. "But the closest he was going to get was on the bench. He was excited and animated. He wants this team to win and I think you saw that." Poor Becks. It must be insanely frustrating to come into a situation where the whole world is watching to see how well you fit in with your new team (and to see you in action up close and personal) and you find yourself relegated to the sidelines due to an injury. In the end, it's best if he rests up and heals himself instead of injuring himself further ... but I ain't gonna lie, I'm also anxious to see him take to the field to show us all just how good he is. The next Galaxy home game is well into August, I'm really hoping that he'll be in playing shape by then. [Source]

Sophie Ellis-Bextor was the guest performer at London's faboo G-A-Y nightclub last night ... here are a few pics from her performance:

I am *so* in love with her latest album Trip The Light Fantastic that I wish there was some way I might be able to see her life for myself some day. It's extremely frustrating for US fans of Britpop acts because we are totally cut off from them ... Boo! [Source]

Elsewhere in London, a diminutive man was spotted trying to make a clandestine exit from China White nightclub last night in the pouring rain ...

... his handlers were instructed that not a single drop of rain was to touch his Purpleness or they would have to suffer the consequences. There were only two umbrellas on hand to ensure that the little man did not have to suffer the indignity of getting wet so the handlers had their hands full making sure he stayed completely dry. The female guests in attendance were left to their own devices, umbrella-less and abandoned, to try and make their way to the car without getting wet. LOL. [Source]

John Favreau and George MichaelRobert Downey, Jr. made their way down to San Diego for the 2007 Comic Con event in order to unveil a few secrets from their upcoming movie adaptation of Iron Man ... here are a few pics:

While the Iron Man suit unveiling and the Q&A looked/sounded interesting, the real draw, I think, was the extended trailer that was shown to the convention attendees. Click HERE to watch the semi-longish video presented at Comic Con yesterday afternoon. [Source]

Additionally, the official movie site for the Iron Man movie has gone live at IronManMovie.com:

In other comic-book to movie adaptation news, the folks at Marvel are going to give the Hulk another go at the big screen treatment. You may recall that Ang Lee valiantly tried to bring the big green man to the silver screen and failed miserably ... here is our first look at the new incarnation of Hulk who is bound for movie theaters next Summer:

Thankfully, he looks less like Shrek this time around. I'm bummed that Aussie hotness Eric Bana will not be playing the role of Dr. Bruce Banner this time around again but I suppose it makes sense to stay away from everything that had anything to do with the first movie. [Source]

And finally, it's time for the Hot Dude(s) of the Week ... this week we get not one but TWO hot dudes gettin' all rough and physical with one another in a friendly game of football. Let's say hello to Bryan and John:

Call me crazy, but I just love it when guys like Bryan and John decide to get all manly and play sports while wearing as little clothing as possible. All football should be played topless, don't you think? I know I'd be more willing to plunk down the bucks to go to more sporting events if this shirtless thing took off :) [Source]

So, as soon as I finished blogging yesterday, I sat my butt down in my fave chair and vowed not to get up until I finished the rest of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. While I still had a bit of the book to finish, I was enjoying myself so much that the time flew right by and I finally completed reading the series. I'm sure anyone who has read the book knows that I am going to say that I loved it entirely:

Now, I want to make sure that I don't spoil anything in the book for those of you who have yet to read it so I'm going to write out my short review below and those of you who want to read it will have to highlight the area with your cursor to see the text ... those of you who have yet to finish the book should get to readin' so that you can stop worrying about having the plot be ruined and finally know how the saga ends. Highlight the area below to read my thoughts on the book:

Alright ... overall, I felt that this book was the easiest to read. Because I had read all the previous books, I was able to be sucked into the story immediately and the pages just flew by as I ravenously tried to get to the end. I loved how JK Rowling kept throwing in little reminders and shoutouts to the previous books as the plotline for this book unfurled (I noticed this first as Harry kept pulling things out of his trunk that first appeared in earlier books ... this convention really continued thruout the rest of the book). I absolutely knew that Severus Snape would turn out to be a good guy in the end. As much as we were being led to believe that he had double-crossed Albus Dumbledore (by seemingly killing him in the last book), I knew that there would be a good explanation in the end. On this account, I was not surprised. I was very surprised that none of the Big 3 characters died at the end. I wasn't sure if Harry Potter was going to survive when I started the book but when so much was made about how he would have to die in order to defeat Voldemort then I knew that JK would explain a way for him to survive or come back from death in the end. That being said, I was sure either Hermoine or Ron was going to die at some point. I was also surprised (and quite liked) that we found out that Albus Dumbledore wasn't absolutely perfect. I loved that the man had flaws and that those flaws ended up helping Harry with his quest in the end. And in the end, I found the final defeat of Voldemort to be extremely anticlimactic. When I think back to the first really big battle between Harry and Voldemort in, I believe, Goblet of Fire and I compare it to the final battle in Deathly Hallows ... well, I think I expected more. It kinda was over just too quickly for me.

I dunno how I feel about the epilogue. I understand that JK Rowling had that final chapter written for years (way before she wrote this last book) and that she had a clear vision of how Harry Potter's story would end. It all just seemed so nicely wrapped up for me ... but I guess, like all fairytales, everyone does live happily everafter. I know that JK has said that she will revisit the world of Harry Potter in the future and I think I can envision a whole new series that follows Albus Severus Potter's tenure at Hogwart's ... tho, I think I'd prefer a series devoted to Lily Potter instead.

Again, I am just so impressed with the world that JK Rowling gave to us as readers ... I am very much looking forward to her next bout of literary genius. Additionally, Potter fans might want to pick up the new collector's issue of Entertainment Weekly ... there is a lot of Harry Potter info that fills in some blanks that might've been forgotten and provides a bunch of really interesting information (like, for example, the fact that JK Rowling is now richer than the Queen of England) as well.

Okay ... so after I finished reading last night, I met up with Mike for a great dinner at The Stinking Rose and then we made our way to Hot Dog for a fun night out. Unfortch, there wasn't hardly anything fun about hanging out at Hot Dog at all. It was too lame for words and hugely disappointing.

Tonight will be much better, I'm meeting up with Kirsten, Darion and Mike for dinner at Rambutan as a little send off since Kirsten is going back home to Australia for a couple of weeks. I hope y'all have been having a great weekend! I'm out.

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